Don’t forget the 4-day Jubilee Bank Holiday in June 2022

To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the Government has undertaken a big shake-up of the late May Bank Holiday.

Whilst this is still 5 months away, it is worth thinking about it now because you may still be able to pick up a decent reward flight to escape it all!

For most people, you would get a 4-day short break without having to take any time off work.

What is happening for the June 2022 Jubilee Bank Holiday?

The Government is planning a 4-day “blockbuster weekend of celebrations” to celebrate The Queen’s 70 year reign.

If you’d rather poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick, or simply don’t trust any event organised by the Govenment to be worth attending, it is a great opportunity for a short break abroad.

This is what is happening:

• the second May Bank Holiday has been moved from a Monday to Thursday 2nd June

• an additional Bank Holiday has been created on Friday 3rd June

This allows you to book a holiday from 2nd to 5th June without requiring any time off work, assuming you have a traditional Monday to Friday work pattern.

I want to flag one potential issue. Sunday 5th June, as well as being the last day of the Jubilee weekend, is also the last day of half term for many families. You will be competing with them for return flights. It may make more sense to take one day off work, have a five day holiday and return on Monday 6th June.

Where to book

SeatSpy has an interesting ‘Where Can I Go?’ feature available to paid subscribers.

You input the dates (exact dates or a range) when you want to depart and return and SeatSpy can tell you which British Airways or Virgin Atlantic routes have award availability in the travel classes you specify.

I looked for long haul British Airways routes with 2 x Business Class seats available, travelling out on Thursday 2nd June and returning on Sunday 5th June. Realistic options – given that it’s only four days – include Boston, Washington, Bahrain, Delhi and Mumbai.

If you are willing to return on Monday 6th June, lots more options open up including New York, Houston and Doha. If you felt you could handle the jet leg, Rio, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires are also available.

There are obviously huge numbers of European routes with Avios seats.

Think twice before booking any non-refundable hotel rooms, however. Whilst we are only looking five months ahead, The Queen is 95 …..

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.